Meet Kim ? a middle-aged hack, ripe for a mid-life crisis.

Meet Kate ? his feisty colleague, half his age.

And meet the Marathon des Sables ? not just the world's toughest footrace, but also the burning furnace where two journalists fall in love.

Kim is married and in a dead-end job on a Red Top newspaper. He's always dreamed of running the Marathon des Sables.

Kate hurls down the gauntlet and Kim can't help but pick it up.

Based on the events of the 2012 Marathon des Sables, this is a story about finding love in the searing crucible of the Sahara.

William Coles is an acclaimed journalist and romance novelist.